Icy Pinwheel Tutorial

If you're doing this tutorial, you should know how to use filters, free transform, and know what the blending mode is. Or else you might be a litle confused.

1. Make a new file, 500 by 500. Color the background black.

2. Using a 65 airbrush, make a line in the middle of the background. (hold shift down while you do it so it's straight.)

3. Filter> Distort> Twirl the line 250.

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4. Filter> Distort> Polar Coordinates, Rectangular to Polar.

5. Ctrl+J to copy the layer. Set the blending mode to lighten.

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6. Ctrl+T to free transform. Right click, and click Rotate 90 CW.

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7. Repeat step 5 and 6.

8. Repeat step 5 and 6.

9. Repeat step 5 and 6.

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10. Click the layer that should be on top. It's bottom is facing the right side of the picture. Go to Filter> Stylize> Wind, and set it to From the Right. Ctrl+F to repeat it.

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11. Click the layer that should be second to bottom. It's bottom is facing the left side of the picture. Go to Filter> Stylize> Wind, and set it to From the Left. Ctrl+F to repeat it.

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Here's the kind of confusing part:

12. Click on the second to top layer. Ctrl+T to free transform. Rotate it 90 CW. Go to Filter> Stylize> Wind, and set it to From the Right. Ctrl+F to repeat it. Ctrl+T again. Rotate it back 90 CCW.

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13. Click on the very bottom layer. Ctrl+T to free transform. Rotate it 90 CW. Go to Filter> Stylize> Wind, and set it to From the Left. Ctrl+F to repeat it. Ctrl+T again. Rotate it back 90 CCW.

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Back to the easy part:

14. Ctrl+Shift+E to merge all the layers. Ctrl+U to open the Hue/Saturation menu. Check Colorize, and change the Hue to 200, and the Saturation to 100.

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Here's the banner I made out of it:

And you're done! Another simple swirly effect created. Press the eye button to see if it would look cooler if you took some layers out, and feel free to twirl it more, add more crazy effects, stuff like that.